After All This Time
by kazzymetron
Summary: A bit of Specs/Krayonder love. A little bit fluffly, a little bit angsty. I don't own any of the characters.


_Well, we did it. Another rescue mission, and we're still here. Krayonder and I, always on the same team. He nearly didn't make it through this one. I don't know what I'd have done if he'd have died; we've always been on the same team, ever since we left the Academy together. _

Specs couldn't help the pride that filled her as she walked to the mess hall the day after the eventful mission on Bug World. She'd always loved being a part of a team, no matter how small her role, she was never more proud than when the team she was part of had survived a mission. It was at these times she was reminded of one of her favourite quotes: "Being a part of something special makes you special" It might be cheesy but to Specs, it was perfect.

Tonight, all Specs wanted to do was get to the mess hall. She knew there wouldn't be anything special to greet her, all she wanted was the friendly faces, congratulations and time that was inevitable. It only took five minutes to get from Specs's room to the mess hall; she lived in the most diverse area on the Starship, where dozens of new ensigns, Commanders and Lieutenants flowed in and out on temporary missions. Within that five minute walk to see her friends Specs always saw something new. Today, though, the one thing Specs did not expect to hear was the heart breaking sobs escaping from Krayonder's living quarters.

Cautiously, she slowly pushed the door of his room open. If you couldn't hear anything it would have looked empty; there was no visible trace of life. The bed was perfectly made; everything was immaculate, as if there had just been a dorm check. But then you heard it. The sounds of crying, punctured only by shuddering breaths, came from almost directly behind where Specs was stood. Steeling herself, the curly haired ranger peered round the door. The picture of a broken man met her eyes. The bandage round his head added to the pathetic image of a Starship ranger curled up on the floor, tears running down his face and shaking uncontrollably.

"Krayonder?" Specs whispered, unsure of how she could help.

_After all this time someone finds me. But why did it have to be the last person I want to see me like this. The one person I like on this Starship, the only one who seems to like me back. Why did it have to be her? Can't a guy break down in peace?_

Yes, they'd just been on a successful mission. They'd survived, no lives were lost and everyone was in one piece. Everyone was happy, except him. No one would understand why he was upset, he'd survived an alien attack single handed. Why was he crying?

What no one knew was the pride he'd lost. Yes, it was heroic of him to save his friends but it left him broken. He was useless now. That damned bug had damaged his brain so much, he could hardly remember anything from The Academy. He knew he'd been; he knew he'd met some people and recognized the few he saw but the actual information he'd learnt was gone. Fighting techniques, stealth methods, even machine work. It was all gone. He knew he'd learnt it once, he just didn't know what he'd learnt or how to use it. Surely, that meant he was useless; it was only a matter of time before the G.L.E.E. kicked him out and he went back to…to what? No one was on Earth for him. No one was waiting, the robots made sure of that when they destroyed his home state of Michigan. He had nothing, nothing but being a Starship Ranger to keep him living but now, that had been taken away from him to. It was when this thought crossed his mind that the crying started. Once it started it didn't stop.

After he'd been crying for about fifteen, Specs heard it. He saw shock, grief and understanding run across her face before she came to sit down next to him. She didn't talk, she just hugged him. The curly haired woman and thin, hopeless looking man embraced each other. She'd been the one to save him from Pincer; it seemed right that she was the one who saved him again.

No one knew how long that hug lasted for. To both the rangers it felt like it lasted a lifetime, yet still not long enough. Finally, Specs drew back and asked "Want to talk?" All this did was this bring on a fresh batch of emotions and start the crying yet again. It was almost too much for him to breathe and shake his head at the same time.

"How bad is it?" Specs understood her friend, she knew that he was hurting because of his pride. When the only answer was more sobbing she knew it had to be bad. Nothing else needed to be said for a long time. She just sat with him. Letting him cry, making sure he wasn't on his own. No one should cry alone.

Eventually, Krayonder looked up. Red from crying and his breathing unsteady, Specs suddenly saw a man, for the first time there was a man, instead of the boy she'd grown up with in The Academy, looking at her. Maybe it was his vulnerability, she didn't know. Whatever it was, something changed when she saw those huge, puppy dog eyes looking up at her. Suddenly, she knew what she had to do.

Looking up after being so vulnerable was the hardest thing Krayonder had ever done. But she'd been there for him when no one was, she'd seen him at his worst. The least he could do was thank her. Looking up was so hard. Yet it changed his life. In that one look he saw a beautiful woman, someone who had always been there yet had never been appreciated; someone who he knew so well yet hardly knew at all. Suddenly, everything froze. He didn't know what to do.

"_I'll do everything I can to help you. We're a team. We always have been. Nothing can break us, I promise you, we'll get through this the way we always have. Together. I promise"_

The words were etched into Krayonder's brain. They meant everything. He wasn't alone. He had someone who knew him. He had a best friend. A best friend he'd never really appreciated. That was going to change. From tonight onwards, things would change. He would change. He would rebuild himself to be so much better, he knew it now.

"_I..I'll do everything I can to help you. We're a team, we always have been, nothing can break us, I promise you, we'll get through this the way we always have…together. I promise"_

They weren't much but they were all Specs could offer. Her words weren't much but they came from the heart. She knew had to say something and although they were stammered and rushed, her words seemed perfect at the time. Now, when she was waiting for him to wash his face so they could go to the mess hall together, she realised that she'd done the right thing, her words had affected him in some way. She could see it in his eyes. Maybe, for once, she'd made a difference.

After an afternoon of talking about everything, but nothing at the same time, the newly bonded friends finally made their way into the mess hall. They had planned to do some training afterwards, start Krayonder on the road to recovery but, as they both knew, nothing ever goes to plan on a Starship. Relaxed and hungry from an emotional afternoon, they found the mess hall looking almost like a night club: tables and chairs had been rearranged into lines around the walls; a big space had been made as a dance floor and there was even a DJ table that had been dragged in from somewhere. All the lights were off and, at first glance it looked deserted. The only thing that told the rangers that they weren't alone was the scraping of a chair before February's blonde bob appeared from under the table nearest to them.

"Hey, haven't you heard? Taz and Up are finally together! We're having a surprise party for them. Quick, hide before they come!" Was the whisper that came from the kind hearted, but very ditzy woman.

The pair looked at each other, shrugged and had ran to find a hiding place within minutes. After finding every table, chair and curtain full they settled for hiding behind the drape furthest away from the door, the only one of the drapes put up to decorate the harsh white walls which was empty. Ten minutes passed until the newest couple arrived and nearly killed everyone out of fright. Most people got restless but it was during those ten minutes that Krayonder and Specs shared a genuine smile for the first time. That moment was the first time they'd both been overcome by the giddy, silly happiness that comes from caring and being cared for. Simultaneously, their faces lit up and neither one had ever seen a more beautiful sight. It was that night that the two Starship Rangers realised how much they needed each other. It was more than friendship. They'd found love with their team mate, their best friend, after all these years.


End file.
